Prof. Yaron Katzir- Ben-Gurion University
Member of the Educational Committee
E-mail: ykatzir@bgu.ac.il
Research Areas:: Petrology and geochemistry of the oceanic lithosphere.
Position at the Ben Gurion University: Head of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences.
Additional information: Personal website.
The vision for the development of ocean research:
Ancient ocean floor is the most detailed and important register of tectonic and petrological processes within the boundaries of plate separation. The ophiolites of Troodos and Oman, pieces of ancient ocean lithosphere placed on top of the Arabian continent, preserve within them extraordinary evidence of the processes of the opening and closure of the Thetis Ocean in our region and constitute a complete and detailed type section of the ocean lithosphere on Earth. In Cyprus we learn about tectonics and the processes of new crust formation in oceanic axes of expansion, and about the ocean hydrothermal systems and their effect on the chemical composition of the ocean. At the edge of the Levant Basin in Israel we are trying to shed light on the beginning of the continental fission in our area.
Active studies in the Mediterranean:
- The Contribution of Magmatic Fluids to Ocean Floor Hydrothermal Systems and Metal Ore Genesis: Ancient and Modern Back-Arc Crust
- Stages in the Evolution of the Eastern Mediterranean Basin, From Rifting to Early Subduction: Evidence from Zircon and Rutile Petrchronology
